In Class 1, detailed conversations and transitional meetings take place with parents and the nursery settings of all children before they begin their time with us. This will identify any predetermined issues that children might have in terms of their moving in to Class 1 and starting their academic journey at our school. All students at St John’s are provided with a broad, balanced curriculum with high quality teaching that is adapted to the learning needs of all students. High quality teaching is monitored and ensured through: classroom observations; termly work sampling; work scrutiny of exercise books; moderation of assessments and examinations; teacher meetings with SENDCO; bi-weekly meetings between the SENDCO and Executive Principal.

Throughout the academic year a testing cycle is followed, ensuring that teachers, along with support from the Senior Leadership Team and SENDCO, can analyse and evaluate the data produced by the children. This will show us the progress that children are making and enable us to apply any immediate intervention that each child needs. These interventions are monitored and tracked by the class teacher as part of an ongoing process in the classroom. Slow progress and low attainment will not automatically mean that a pupil is recorded as having SEND.

We know when learners need help if:
• Concerns are raised by the child, parents/carers, and teachers at St John’s, or at the child’s nursery/previous setting.
• Tracking of attainment outcomes indicate a lack of progress despite differentiation and interventions.
• The results of standardised testing for reading and spelling – NFER, NGRT, SATs - indicate the child is working below the expected level.
• The child receives a diagnosis from an outside agency.
• Observations of the child indicate that they have an additional need in one of the four areas:

1. Communication and interaction
2. Cognition and learning
3. Social, mental and emotional health
4. Sensory/physical.

All students with a disability or medical need will be provided with “reasonable adjustments” to facilitate their access to the curriculum.

Students may be placed on the SEND register under code M and progress monitored. If it is necessary to provide support which is additional to and different from the core curriculum, the student will be placed on the SEND register under SEND support code K. Those students who have an Educational Health and Care Plan are automatically placed on the SEND register as code E.

The school SEND register is shared with all staff at the start of each academic school year and is updated throughout the year and at each census point. Students ‘Support’ and all those with an EHC Plan will have a Pupil Passport. These are shared documents and are drawn up in consultation with the pupil and their parent/carer. Pupil Passports have clear information, strategies and targets for the student. Staff use the information in the Pupil Passport to inform their lesson planning, teaching and student learning activities. Progress is monitored and reviewed officially each half term, with parents having the opportunity to meet face to face 3 times per year, on top of traditional parents evenings. Parents also have the opportunity to add additional comments during each review stage. Communication between parents and teachers/SENDCO can be made quickly and effectively through Class Dojo. The Pupil Passport is held within each classroom and used as a ‘working document’ by staff and children. Whilst targets are reviewed with parental input each half term, they will be changed and adapted often during the day-to-day interventions being held. This way, we can ensure that children can access their targets and achieve in small steps.

When action is required to support increased rates of progress, this will follow a graduated a response model: Assess, Plan, Do, Review.

Assess: St John’s will assess the pupil’s needs using teacher assessment, experience, previous attainment and data tracking against peer and national data.
Plan: Parents/carers will be invited to a meeting to plan support and intervention. The student will receive a pupil passport and all staff who work with the student will be made aware of the child’s needs and support required.
Do: The class teacher will implement the plan in the day to day classroom, ensuring that the logistics and specified success criteria of the interventions and targets are met.
Review: The parent will be invited to a review of the impact of the support each term. The class teacher will also review the passport each half term and share this with parents in order to offer them a chance to give their opinions. Targets are reviewed constantly based on interventions and quality first teaching within the classroom. The class teacher will revise support in line with the outcome of the meeting.

If progress rates are deemed to be inadequate, despite additional support and interventions, advice will be sought from external agencies with the permission of the parents/carers.

Such agencies may include:
Autism Outreach Team
Hearing Impairment Team
Visual Impairment Team
Educational Psychologist Service
CAMHS
Occupational Therapy
Educational Welfare Workers
School Nurse
SEND & Inclusion Hub

For pupils who may have significant or more complex needs or who fail to make expected levels of progress despite SEND support, the college or parents may consider requesting an Educational Health Care plan (EHCP) that will be undertaken by the Local Authority.

If you wish to raise a concern with regards to your child please consider the guidance below:

• If you have any concerns about your child the first port of call is always the class teacher.
• The class teacher then may inform the SENDCO who will discuss necessary intervention and next steps
• If you are still concerned then you can contact the SENCO directly. Mr Hammersley is our SENDCO, he is also the Lead Teacher within the school. You are welcome to arrange a meeting at the office: 01889 343106 or email office@st-johns-greathaywood.staffs.sch.uk - or contact him via Class Dojo.

Should a meeting be arranged with the SENDCO, please consider the following prior to the meeting:

• Bring any medical paperwork which may be appropriate.
• Points which you may want to consider before meeting with the SENDCO:
• Why you think your child has SEN/disability
• Whether your child learns at the same rate as other children their age
• What the school can do to help
• What you can do to help

The link to our dedicated Special Educational Needs page on the school website is:
https://www.st-johns-greathaywood.staffs.sch.uk/special-educational-needs-and-disabilities-send/

St John’s Catholic Primary School is an inclusive academy where every child is valued and respected as a child of God. We work to support all our students to make progress in their learning, their emotional and social development, and their independence including those with SEND. We cater for children aged 3-11 years. Along with other Catholic schools, we are part of ‘The Painsley Catholic Academy’, ensuring high quality Catholic education. We ensure that pupils are included in all aspects of learning and school life throughout our school. It is the aim of St John’s to work in partnership between home, school and parish, with Christ at the centre. It is important for parents’carers and teacher to work together so that each child can reach their full potential in all areas of school life.

All teachers are teachers of special educational needs. The SEND Code of Practice is followed and all teachers receive training in the SEND Code of Practice. St John’s Primary School recognises that it is the teachers’ responsibility to meet the needs of all children in their class through high quality teaching, classroom organisation, seating arrangements, carefully planned lessons, a range of teaching styles, teaching materials and adaptation.

St John’s also supports the recommendations made by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) in their support and teaching of students with SEND. See link below:
https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education-evidence/guidance-reports/send

St John’s also has a strong team of staff who support children within the classroom, out of the classroom, 1:1 and in small groups where necessary. All staff have received a range of training, have excellent subject knowledge and provide the base for a child’s academic learning and emotional support. The ethos of the school is a supportive one, in such that staff are happy and comfortable to complete additional training in order to support children. Those children with an EHCP have a specified member of staff who offers support, but all staff are aware of needs.

Some pupils require targeted intervention. These are planned onto a provision map and interventions are delivered by Teaching Assistants. Interventions may include small group or individual work.

A wide range of interventions are provided for all areas of SEND and may involve bespoke packages or a programme developed and personalised specifically for a student or group of students. Current interventions include Nessy (computer pro-gramme); Precision Teaching (helping children with spelling High Frequency words) Handwriting (through the Letterjoin programme), RWI Fresh Start, RWI 1:1 and Numbersense Maths.

Additional support may be offered for homework, touch typing, handwriting, counselling, revision support, mind mapping, self-esteem, lunch time and break time support, meet and greet in the morning and spaces allocated around the school if children need space to relax or regulate their emotions.

We provide information for parents through: newsletters, information on the website, parents’ evenings; text message service, emails, letters home and on the school Facebook page.

Pupil progress is shared each half term with parents through reports on attainment and effort. Parents can view schemes of learning on the school website and have access to homework tasks, either through a paper copy sent home, or using Purple Mash, Maths Flex, Century Tech or SPAG.com to coincide with the learning within the classroom. Parents can arrange an appointment to discuss progress with the child’s Class teacher or SENDCO. There are two parent’s evenings held each academic year, where parents can discuss any issues and celebrate successes.

We welcome parents to support us by encouraging your child to fully engage with their learning and any interventions offered by: helping them to be organised for their day (including wearing the right uniform, bringing required equipment, reading books and diaries, and PE kits ) ensuring full attendance and excellent punctuality; checking that they have completed their home learning, accessing Class Dojo for class related updates, attending parents’ evenings and Pupil Passport review meetings. We will make our best endeavours to take your views, and those of your child, into account.

All students with an EHC plan will meet at least once a year with the SENDCO to review progress and provision against targets set within the parameters of the EHC.

The SENDCO reports termly to the SEND governor who monitors and reviews the work of the SENDCO against the School Improvement Plan.
Where a student is failing to meet expected levels of progress, interventions may be put into place and the outcomes of these monitored at termly meetings between the class teacher and the Executive Principal & Lead Teacher.

When action is required to support increased rates of progress, this will follow a graduated a response model: Assess, Plan, Do, Review.
Assess: St John’s will assess the pupil’s needs using teacher assessment, experience, previous attainment and data tracking against peer and national data.
Plan: Parents/carers will be invited to a meeting to plan support and intervention. The student will receive a pupil passport and all staff who work with the student will be made aware of the child’s needs and support required.
Do: The class teacher will implement the plan in the day to day classroom, ensuring that the logistics and specified success criteria of the interventions and targets are met.
Review: The parent will be invited to a review of the impact of the support each term. The class teacher will also review the passport each half term and share this with parents in order to offer them a chance to give their opinions. Targets are reviewed constantly based on interventions and quality first teaching within the classroom. The class teacher will revise support in line with the outcome of the meeting.

SEND support will be recorded on the child’s ‘Pupil passport’ which will have clear expectations and targets for the student. Progress will be monitored and reviewed half termly, with termly meetings with parents, the pupil and class teacher. Where necessary, the SENDCO and Executive Principal may attend these meetings for additional support and input.
Students with SEND are placed on the SEND register, with the consent of parents and this register is accessible to all staff in the school.
If progress rates are deemed to be inadequate, despite additional support and interventions, advice will be sought from external agencies with the permission of the parents/carers.

Such agencies may include:
Autism Outreach Team
Hearing Impairment Team
Visual Impairment Team
Educational Psychologist Service
CAMHS
Occupational Therapy
Educational Welfare Workers
School Nurse
School Counsellor
SEND & Inclusion Hub

For pupils who may have significant or more complex needs or who fail to make expected levels of progress despite SEND support, the academy or parents may consider requesting an Educational Health Care plan (EHCP) that will be undertaken by the Local Authority.

All teachers St John’shave high expectations of all students. All students are provided with a broad, balanced curriculum with Quality First Teaching that is differentiated to the learning needs of all students. High quality teaching is monitored and ensured through: classroom observations; termly work sampling; work scrutiny of exercise books; internal and external moderation of assessments and examinations; teacher meetings with SENDCO; half termly SEND Passport review meetings; academy data and progress tracking.

Teaching staff and Teaching Assistants use a range of methods to support the learning needs of all students including: modelling; scaffolding; questioning; sentence starters; storyboarding; chunking information; use of writing frames; cloze procedures; guided reading; mind mapping; use of ICT eg laptops, iPads and hearing impairment receivers.

Staffing and resources are adapted to accommodate the needs of students.


Students with a medical need or disability will be provided with “reasonable adjustments” to facilitate their access to the curriculum. The school may provide specialised equipment to support pupils in the classroom, for example: coloured overlays, larger font size, laptops, reading rulers, pen grips and exercise books with coloured paper.

In Year 6, or Class 4, students may be assessed for Examination Access Arrangements in school and this information is shared with the high school as children make the transition to Year 7. Some students may require additional processing time or access to a reader or prompter.

Outside agencies are invited to work closely with our students with additional needs. We work with a range of agencies including for example: the Educational Psychology Service; Autism Outreach; the Hearing impairment team and communications support workers; Occupational therapy and Physiotherapy services.

The Curriculum is continually reviewed by subject leaders, with support from the Senior Leadership Team to ensure that it meets the needs of all students. The curriculum overview for each subject can be viewed on the school website. The curriculum is personalised to accommodate those students with more complex needs eg: 1:1 Physiotherapy; 1:1 tuition; small group support.

All students, including those with SEND, are assessed on a regular basis in accordance with the School’s Assessment/Marking and Feedback Policy. We aim to develop the students’ knowledge and skills to enable them to build subject knowledge and apply what they know with increasing confidence and fluency.

Where a student is failing to meet expected levels of progress, interventions are put into place and the outcomes of these monitored at data points, in half termly meetings with the Principal.

Some students may require a more personalised curriculum dependent on ability and need, meaning that a reduced timetable might be put in place in order to aid transition from a different establishment.

Some students who are currently unable to manage the school environment due to medical or mental health reasons may have access to alternate provision through online live lessons in the home. Medical evidence is required to access this provision.

The Accessibility Plan, Assessment/Marking and Feedback Policy and Equality Policy are all available on the school website:

https://www.st-johns-greathaywood.staffs.sch.uk/policies/

Staffing and resources are adapted to accommodate the needs of students. The notional SEND budget is used to ensure that students on the SEND register or those who are being monitored receive the support that they need. The budget is used to fund the cost of Teaching Assistants, interventions and the purchase of resources across the school.

Students with an EHCP receive support as specified in their individual plans.

At St John’s Primary School, we aim to support the needs of all students in our care. Students do not require a specific diagnosis or label to receive support in the form of reasonable adjustments. The SENDCO and Senior Leadership Team works with the students, their parents/guardians, teaching staff, support staff, caseworkers, pastoral team and external agents to develop support packages for individual students. Assessments, observations, book scrutiny, classwork and homework as well as more formal standardised assessment support this process. Regular reviews, discussions and meetings take place to keep parents informed of progress.

The notional SEND budget is used as well as additional top up funding allocated to students with EHCPs to purchase equipment and facilities such as reader pens, coloured reading rulers/overlays, mini whiteboards, laptops and software etc.

The class teacher works alongside the SENDCO and the Senior Leadership Team to carry out assessments of need. The following information may be used:
Assessments, observations, book scrutiny, classwork and homework, standardised tests, comparative school data, advice/reports from external agencies, the views of the student, the views of parents.
We will follow the graduated approach and the four-part cycle of review: Assess, Plan, Do, Review.
Pupil Passports are reviewed half-termly, amended and signed by parents.
Regular meetings and discussions are held with parents. Information is shared in phone calls, virtual meetings, face to face meetings and emails as required.

At St John’s, we encourage our parents to be involved in the education of their child. We share our class learning via Class Dojo, which is also used to celebrate successes of the children. Parents receive a notification of rewards and sanctions via the Class Dojo app, as well as having direct access to teachers if necessary. We encourage parents to support our homework policy and to support organisation of books and equipment to help their child become an independent young person.

We welcome parents to support us by encouraging your child to fully engage with their learning and any interventions offered by: helping your child to be organised for their day (including wearing the right uniform, bringing required equipment) ensuring full attendance and excellent punctuality; aiding with the completion of homework and daily reading; attending parents’ evenings and review meetings. We will make our best endeavours to take your views, and those of your child, into account.

Each child’s Pupil Passport is co-produced with the parent and child and is reviewed face-to-face/virtually with parents each term. Alongside this, on concurrent half terms, passports are reviewed and sent home for parents to advise and access. Parents’ and student views is always sought at these meetings and recorded on written forms.

All students with an Education, Health Care plan will meet more formally at least once a year with the SENDCO to review progress and provision and at two additional review meetings to review targets and progress towards the outcomes on the EHC plan.

Children are encouraged to attend all meetings too, in order to ensure that they are fully engaged with their learning journey across our school.

All students, including those with SEND, are assessed on a regular basis in accordance with the School’s Assessment/Marking and Feedback Policy. Teachers monitor progress throughout the year. Pupil progress is shared each term with parents through reports on attainment and effort. Each student’s progress is monitored in comparison to their peers and against national data.

On receipt of a report, parents may wish to discuss their child’s report further with their class teacher. There are two parent’s evenings held each academic year. Other meetings can be arranged on an individual basis with the SENCo or class teacher.

Students with SEND are tracked specifically by the SENDCO and compared against their peers to measure progress and monitor the impact of any interventions that have taken place.

Pupil and parent voice are captured at regular intervals.

External agents involved with the young person may provide regular progress reports which are sent out to parents and shared with all relevant staff within the school.

The school follows the graduated approach and the four part cycle: Assess, Plan, Do, Review.

Termly meetings are arranged to discuss progress and amend targets on the pupil passports, whilst each half term the passports are shared with parents.

Termly meetings are arranged to discuss progress and amend provision against the outcomes for those students with an Educational Health Care Plan and annual review meetings take place to monitor the impact of interventions based on the targets and outcomes on the EHCP.

All children at St John’s can access various supports during ‘unstructured times’ of the school day. It might be the case that a child needs time to ‘cool down’ during break times, in which case children are directed to spaces in which staff are on hand to assist or simply ‘be there’ for children.

Some students may require a member of staff to greet them in the morning in order to aid their transition into school.

A range of spaces are available for students to use in school when they feel it necessary, and in conjunction with members of staff; the Class 1 ‘Min Classroom’, Class 2 ‘Nurture Space’, Class 3&4 ‘Middle Room’ and the ‘Reading Room’.

Staff, including teaching assistants and support staff accompany students on a range of school trips.

Similarly, some students with additional needs may require teaching assistant support to access, or travel to, the different areas of the building or the Church.

Where appropriate, risk assessments and care plans are carried out to ensure the safety of the students in our care.

Pastoral support is delivered across the school following the graduated response with the Class teacher, SENDCO, Support staff, Mental Health and Wellbeing Lead and Safeguarding team to support the wellbeing of students at St John’s.

Class teachers follow various schemes in order to teach specific objectives from the PSHE and RHE curriculum, which is timetabled in to each week.

Where appropriate, the Designated Safeguarding Lead will meet with relevant staff members in order to ensure that needs of children are being met. This can range from the classroom team, lunchtime supervisors, office staff and the Mental Health and Wellbeing Lead.

All members of staff are on hand each morning on the playground in order to support with any matters that arise upon arrival to school.

Intervention support takes place where needed – this can be within the classroom as a whole, or in small groups or 1:1. This can include specific, tailored sessions for mindfulness, self-esteem, anger management, ‘Think Bricks’ Lego therapy, managing stress and anxiety, meet and greet during the morning.


The link to the anti-bullying policy can be found:
https://www.st-johns-greathaywood.staffs.sch.uk/policies/

Medical and care plans and the administration of medication are managed in compliance with the school policy. St John’s has Paediatric First Aiders who give advice on medical care plans, holds student medication and informs staff of an individual’s care needs. The Medical Needs Policy and Medication Policy are shared on the school website: https://www.st-johns-greathaywood.staffs.sch.uk/policies/

The school behaviour policy is available on the school website. Attendance is monitored by the Senior Leadership Team on a daily basis.

Students who are looked after are supported by the designated Teacher for LAC, Mr Hammersley. Those students who are looked after and who have SEND are also supported further by Mr Hammersley, SENDCO. Mr Hammersley, along with staff in school, works closely with the local authority, their carers and relevant external agencies in order to provide the best outcomes for those children.

The class teacher of your child is the first point of contact for your child. For any additional support, then the SENDCO can be contacted for specific queries related to SEND. Some classes have a teaching assistant who will work alongside the children in the classroom, providing any necessary interventions. Some children will work with other members of staff in order to maximise their learning, for example they may be working within smaller groups with highly trained teachers of phonics. The Safeguarding team, including the Mental Health and Wellbeing Lead will be in close contact with class teachers to monitor any emotional needs of pupils.

All new staff receive dedicated SEND training at the start of each academic year. This is tailored to the needs of the school and ranges from; specific autism support, hearing impairment or mental health and wellbeing. The SENDCO provides training and liaises with external agents to provide training on a range of needs.

Students with EHCPs and who are on the SEND register have a raised profile and additional information is provided to staff at the start of the academic year, as well as being revisited during half termly SEND staff meetings. Information is shared with relevant staff following the annual review of a student who has an Educational Health Care Plan, and following review meetings of Pupil Passports.

The SEND register is placed on the SEND area of the staff shared platform for staff access.

Student Passports and Support Plans are placed on the Whole School area of the staff shared platform for staff access.

All students with medical needs are listed and this information is shared with staff on the staff shared platform. Any new updates to care plans are shared immediately with relevant staff.

The SENDCO and team of support staff meet half termly in order to discuss any pertinent information and share good practise from around the school.

Risk assessments are shared with teaching and support staff.

The SENDCO, Mr Hammersley, received a Distinction in the National SENCo Award and is now a facilitator for aspiring SENDCOs on the new SENDNPQ. He has teaching experience across both Key Stage 1 and 2, working in Staffordshire and Stoke-On-Trent over the past 10 years in various roles, including 1:1 support and teacher. He has been in post as SENCO at St John’s since September 2024 and part of the Painsley MAC since January 2018. As well as his role as SENCO, he is also the Year 4 class teacher, Designated Mental Health Lead, Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead, Designated Online Safety Safeguarding Lead, Designated Teacher for Looked After Children and Computing, PE, Science and Maths Curriculum Lead. He is also the Lead Teacher at the school.

There is an ongoing programme of In-Service training for all members of staff. Whole school training also takes place, where appropriate. The SENDCO attends courses on SEND issues in order to keep up to date with local and national issues and to share good practice.

All staff have completed recognised training around Autism in schools. The school is currently working towards being recognised as an Attachment and Trauma informed school.

There is on-going sharing of good practice through regular departmental meetings and feedback/ advice provided by the leadership team, subject leaders and the SENDCO following lesson observations.

All staff receive regular updates on Safeguarding and PREVENT training.

St John’s has access to Autism Outreach and the school team regularly meet each half-term with those students in school who have a full diagnosis and an EHCP.
We have close links with our Educational Psychologist who provides information for staff training on a range of issues. St John’s also has access to termly visits from the Educational Psychologist.
The school nurse and medically trained professionals deliver training on issues such as asthma, epilepsy and physiotherapy programmes.
The school has regular access to advice from a range of service providers including the local district SEND and Inclusion hub.
The SENDCO and class teachers work with speech and language therapists, physiotherapists and other health professionals who are involved with students attending school and a wide range of external agencies which include:

Autism Outreach Team
Hearing Impairment Team
Visual Impairment Team
Educational Psychologist Service
CAMHS
Occupational Therapy
Educational Welfare Workers
School Nurse
School Counsellor
SEND & Inclusion Hub

Please contact your child’s class teacher if you have any general queries, including academic progress concerns.
Please contact the SENDCO for concerns related to SEND:
Mr M Hammersley SENDCO - 01889 343106 – also available via Class Dojo, and through the office: office@st-johns-greathaywood.staffs.sch.uk

Mr M Hammersley SENDCO - 01889 343106 – also available via Class Dojo, and through the office: office@st-johns-greathaywood.staffs.sch.uk

The SEN governor is Mrs Katherine Bould. The role of the governor is to:
Help raise awareness of SEND issues at LG meetings.
Monitor the quality and effectiveness of SEND provision in the school.
Work with the SENDCO to develop SEND policy and provision in the school.

There are two MAC SEND governor meetings held each year.
Termly meetings are held between the SEN governor and the school SENDCO.

We recognise that all pupils have the right to be involved in making decisions and exercising choice in their education where that is possible. Students are encouraged to take part in Pupil Voice activities in school; to regularly evaluate their work and learning in lessons; attend review meetings and contribute to setting targets. Open dialogue between pupils and key adults, such as the class teacher, SENDCO and designated staff is encouraged. Pupil Voice is carried out for each subject and gives children a chance to have their opinions and voices heard.

We welcome parents to support us and parents are frequently asked to provide their views and feedback at Passport review meetings, annual review meetings and in parental surveys.

Where necessary, meetings take place with families to offer support and signpost services. The SENDCO works with families of students with SEND and other families to provide support and guidance. Referrals are made to external services eg CAMHS, Early Help, SEND and Inclusion hub, Autism Outreach when required. Families can also request support through conversations with the Designated Safeguarding Lead, Mental Health and Wellbeing Lead, Executive Principal or Class Teacher.

All students are encouraged to take part in a wide range of extra-curricular clubs and activities and all clubs, activities and trips are available to all students. All students are encouraged to fully immerse themselves into the school life by participating in eg, enrichment days, transition days, school productions, sports day, residential trips, key sacramental preparation (Eucharist and Confirmation). Reasonable adjustments are made to facilitate any additional needs and no student is ever excluded from taking part in activities because of a special educational need or disability.

St John’s is wheelchair accessible from all entrances. There is an identified Disabled Toilet and shower room for use where necessary.
The front of school has a disabled parking place for drop offs and pick up where necessary.

In line with statutory guidance, the school has an Accessibility plan which is regularly reviewed to ensure that pupils are able to access the curriculum and the physical environment. All pupils, including those that have sensory or physical disabilities, have the opportunity to participate fully in all aspects of the life of the school. Some pupils may receive support from a Teaching Assistant, or other member of staff, to access the buildings, practical subjects and the full range of learning opportunities thereby facilitating integration into the life of the school. Where needed, classes have been relocated within the school in order to ensure that children with medical needs or disabilities have access to specific amenities of the school, such as toilets, hall and playground.
Further educational equipment can also be obtained through the SEND department and the physical impaired service at Horton Lodge.

The link to the St John’s Accessibility Plan on our website is:
https://www.st-johns-greathaywood.staffs.sch.uk/policies/

Sensory needs are met according to individual requirements e.g. use of ear defenders, early transition from rooms in the school, access to safe rooms.

Translators may be used as required to support EAL families. There is an electronic language translator facility on the school website and Class Dojo also offers the option of translating all posts and messages sent to parents.

The school website has a language translator facility for any members of the school community who do not have English as a first language. Class Dojo also has the function to translate any messages or posts. Support will be requested through MEAS to facilitate the needs of students with EAL where necessary.

Please find a link to St John’s Admissions Policy:

The school is happy to have you come to visit and see us in action! You can tour the school, meet with the Executive Principal or SENDCO and get a feel for our wonderful atmosphere.
Every day is an open day here at St John’s!
To arrange a visit to school contact: office@st-johns-greathaywood.staffs.sch.uk
Or call on 01889 343106

Transition into our school
Prior to joining St John’s in Class 1, detailed conversations and transitional meetings take place with parents and the nursery settings of all children. This will identify any predetermined issues that children might have in terms of their moving in to Class 1 at our school. If your child is joining us from another setting, transitional ‘taster days’ can be accessed, where children will spend some time in their new classroom before starting officially. Children and parents can also come and visit the school together to look around and get to know some friendly faces.

Transition within our school
Each year children move on to the next year group. This could mean that they stay in the same class, as we use a mixed aged class model, or it could mean a different teacher, or a new classroom altogether. In the Summer term, we hold a day where children will spend some time with their new teacher or new class group, completing various transitional activities in order to make the move as smooth as possible. This includes the opportunities to ask questions and for children to get to know their new teacher and classroom. Children who require additional support with their transition may be given transition booklets, with photos of their new class and staff, as well as frequent informal visits to their new classroom.

Transition to High School
St John’s has close links with its High School, Blessed William Howard, along with the other feeder schools for the high school. This includes many sporting and musical events taking place at the high school. Pupils from as early as Year 3 take part in a host of events including religious retreat days, science days, PE days, maths days and MFL days.
All of Year 6 come to the school for an Induction period in July prior to starting the school in September. The Pastoral Lead for Year 7 and the SENDCO or Deputy SENCO will visit the primary schools in the Spring and Summer terms.
Early transition visits may be arranged for more vulnerable students at the request of the primary school and these commence in January prior to the autumn transition point.
Where practicable, the SENDCO of Blessed William Howard will attend the Annual Review of a Year 6 pupil who has an EHCP to ensure a smooth transition is made. For children identified with additional needs, regular transition visits take place throughout the spring and summer terms.
Additional early transition visits may take place from Year 5, depending upon the additional need of specific pupils, and where the SENDCO and Year 5 staff feel this will benefit a child’s transition.
During early transition, vulnerable students will have access to the SEND Year 6 information booklet.
Parents/carers are invited to a meeting at Blessed William Howard and are provided with a range of information to support transition between Key Stages.
Relevant information is disseminated to teaching staff before transfer to ensure a smooth transition.

The above information is relevant for any high school that your child chooses to attend.

You may wish to contact the SENDCO or your child’s class teacher if you feel that your child needs the support of a specialist service.

Some support services available to parents include:

- The SENDIASS Staffordshire Family Partnership is for parents and carers of children and young people ( aged 0-25 ), with special educational needs and disabilities and children and young people ( up to 25 ) with SEND can be contacted on www.staffs-iass.org. They offer information, advice and support about education, health and social care issues to support Staffordshire’s SEND Local Offer.

- The Staffordshire Local Offer can be found: https://www. staffordshire.gov.uk/Children-and-earlyyears/hildcare-providers-and-professionals/SENDD-Local-Offer.aspx

- Independent Parental Special Education Advice (IPSEA) http://www.ipsea.org.uk/

- British Dyslexia Association http://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk

- Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) https://combined.nhs.uk/

- Staffordshire Autism Outreach Team https://www.facebook.com/Staffordshire-Autism-Outreach-Team-112695317037942/

The St John’s SEND Information Report is updated annually. The latest update was October 2024.

Dialogue between parents and the school is actively encouraged in order to resolve any problems at an early stage.

Initially, all complaints from parents or carers about their child’s provision is made to the SENDCO, who follows this up with the relevant staff. However, if a parent or carer is not satisfied with the response given, the complaints procedure outlined on the school’s website may be followed.

The Academy Complaints Procedure can be found on the website:
https://www.st-johns-greathaywood.staffs.sch.uk/policies/